Malden, MA (January 16, 2015) – When asked about their outlook for their businesses in 2015, a resounding 89% of RBF clients who responded to an online survey expressed optimism about their prospects, with 62% believing that the number of their employees would increase, and 56% expecting that their costs would go down.

The anonymous survey, sponsored by RBF, was conducted in late 2014 by the independent research firm W5 of Dublin, Ireland. Its purpose was to collect client insights about the direction of their businesses, and to elicit honest, actionable feedback about how we – as their CPAs and business advisors – are performing.

The results were truly gratifying. “Responsive,” “professional” and “knowledgeable” were the top three words used to describe RBF.

• Ninety-one percent of respondents expressed overall satisfaction with the quality of their relationship with the firm.

• Three-quarters (76%) said that RBF has had a positive impact on their business, and 73% considered themselves to be “active promoters” of the RBF brand – a measure of those who are our best advocates, and who are likely to recommend RBF to a friend, colleague or business associate.

• The personnel that clients deal with most often within the firm were rated very positively by respondents, with 96% rating their contacts with staff as either good or excellent in the areas of “professionalism” “expertise,” “integrity,” “efficiency” and “responsiveness.”

• The reputation of a particular partner or staff member - followed by word of mouth recommendations - were cited by respondents as the main reasons for their choosing to work with RBF.

Clients also were asked for ways in which RBF could improve its overall service. Suggestions included more frequent one-on-one communication, checking in during off-peak times to determine what issues were on clients’ minds, greater use of online tools to remind clients about important tax dates, more transparency with billing categories and invoices, and offering suggestions about what clients can do proactively to receive better value from RBF services.

“Rest assured that we are listening,” said RBF president Bill Rucci. “Client surveys are of little value if we don’t take seriously their suggestions on how to improve – as CPAs, as business advisors and as people.

“Knowing how our clients feel about their experience is the best way for us to drive continuous improvement across the company.”